BRANDSTALK #165
Karen Ann Bulluck

AUTHOR | SPEAKER | FOUNDER
DARING TO TRANSCEND

 

Trust is at a premium right now. In leadership. In organizations. In relationships. And yet, it’s one of the least understood forces shaping how we lead and how we decide.

In this episode of BrandsTalk, I welcomed back Karen Ann Bulluck, author, former Executive Vice President at AM Best, and founder of DARING TO TRANSCEND®, to talk about her upcoming book Embracing Trust, the final installment of her Ascending Ladders trilogy. Karen was last on the show three years ago, and this conversation feels like a natural continuation of a journey from power, to truth, and now to trust.

What emerged was not a discussion about “trust” as a leadership buzzword, but a nuanced exploration of self-trust, integrity, inner conflict, and resilience, especially for women navigating high-stakes environments.

Why Trust and Why Now

As Karen explains, trust isn’t eroding by accident. Surveys consistently show that employees don’t trust leadership, and leaders often struggle to trust their teams. Add rapid technological change and increasingly complex workplaces, and the cracks widen.

Looking at her characters’ journeys and the broader leadership landscape Karen came back to one central question:
“Who can I trust?”

Not just externally, but internally.

She makes it clear that trust isn’t something we can meaningfully extend to others if we don’t trust ourselves first. As Karen puts it,

“If you don’t trust your own instincts, beliefs, and decisions, you really have nothing because you can’t trust anybody else either.”

That idea runs through Embracing Trust: leaders questioning which inner voices are truly theirs, and which ones are inherited expectations, old conditioning, or fear masquerading as logic.

Integrity as a Daily Leadership Practice

Integrity is the throughline of the entire trilogy, and Karen is careful to describe it not as a dramatic stand or moral posturing, but as alignment.

Integrity shows up when leaders are willing to sit with inner conflict instead of bypassing it. When they pause rather than react. When they resist the temptation to choose the easiest or safest option simply to preserve appearances.

One of the most compelling insights Karen shared is how integrity actually creates space for creativity. Many leaders assume integrity narrows options, quit the job, confront publicly, or walk away. Sometimes that’s true. But often, integrity invites a third path.

Karen describes integrity as the place where leaders can step outside “standard operating procedures” and find solutions that don’t blow up careers but still honor values. That kind of leadership requires time, reflection, and emotional regulation, whether through journaling, meditation, movement, or simply slowing down long enough to hear oneself think.

Women, Power, and the Middle Ground

We also talked candidly about the added complexity women face in male-dominated environments. Karen is clear: this isn’t only a women’s issue but women often feel the tension more acutely.

Historically, the options were limited: conform or leave. Go along with the system or walk away from it entirely. What Embracing Trust explores is the difficult, often invisible middle ground; staying, influencing, and changing systems from within without sacrificing oneself in the process.

That work, Karen says, is demanding. It requires emotional maturity, self-awareness, and trusted relationships. Many senior women become isolated over time, simply because they’ve had to prioritize work and survival. The question of “Who can I trust?” becomes painfully real when decisions are heavy and support feels scarce.

Trust as Resilience, Not Certainty

Perhaps the most human moment in our conversation came when Karen described what embracing trust ultimately means to her.

It’s not about always getting it right. It’s about trusting your ability to survive the consequences of your choices.

Karen shared that real self-trust is knowing you are resilient enough to recover, even if a decision leads to pain, loss, or regret. You can adapt. You can change course. You can endure.

That perspective alone reframes leadership from perfection to presence, from control to courage.

Embracing Trust doesn’t offer formulas. It offers reflection. It invites leaders, especially women, to look honestly at their inner conflicts, their values, and the quiet decisions that shape their leadership brand over time.

As Karen reminds us, trust is not passive. It’s a choice. And integrity is not static. It’s practiced, again and again, in moments that rarely make headlines.

This is a conversation worth sitting with, especially if you’re leading, questioning, and becoming.

Watch out for the book release:

”Embracing Trust”. The third book of the business fiction series “The Ascending Ladders Series” centers on empowerment, truth, and trust, launching on February 24, 2026.

🔗 Tune into this episode on all major podcast platforms! Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, etc…

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Get in touch with Karen Ann Bulluck:

  • https://www.daringtotranscend.com
  • https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenannbulluck
  • https://www.facebook.com/karenannbulluck

Time Markers:

00:36 Meet Karen Ann Bullock
01:01 Karen’s Journey and Achievements
01:53 The Importance of Trust in Leadership
05:17 Exploring Self-Trust and Integrity
12:20 Challenges for Women in Leadership
19:25 Karen’s Creative Process
23:21 The Ascending Ladder Series
30:34 Embracing Trust: Personal Insights
32:37 Future Plans and Final Thoughts

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